Enterprise desktop management is one of the most challenging tasks for Information Technology (IT) departments of large organizations today. A typical IT department needs to manage, protect, and distribute software updates and modifications, upgrade operating systems and applications, as well as be able to back up and restore the user's data and settings on demand. One issue for IT departments is the complexity of managing a large number of different computers of enterprise users. The sheer number of user computers to manage; the proliferation of operating system (OS) images and applications; and the complex set of operations, such as deployment, provisioning, patching, upgrading, installing and managing applications, compliance testing, troubleshooting and re-imaging; all make IT responsibilities a very challenging task. To compound these difficulties, today's enterprises are often dispersed over multiple geographic locations and the use of Local Area Networks (LANs) connected over one or more Wide Area Networks (WANs) with variable bandwidths and latencies is a serious barrier to providing efficient network management without sacrificing end user experience.
In a typical enterprise network environment, it would be desirable for an IT department to manage client devices remotely to provide updates, install applications, and perform other IT functions for the client devices. A client device on the network can be a physical machine, such as a computer, a laptop, or a tablet where all of a user's data and applications are stored or hosted.
Enterprise desktop management provides a more centralized and efficient client environment that is easier to manage by enterprise IT administrators, who are able to respond more quickly to the changing needs of the user and the business. However, many issues still persist. For example, each time an IT administrator installs an application on a user device, the administrator may need to run an installer, which is time consuming and can require manual assistance. Further, in a network with a large numbers of users and client devices, an IT administrator can face challenges in determining which applications should be suggested to which users. A more efficient approach is desirable for managing client devices and suggesting applications on an enterprise network.